LACONIA — Although its metaphorical, if not literal, doors are always open, the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire is making a special outreach to those Catholics who have fallen away, as well welcoming new people to the faith.

Beginning Ash Wednesday and extending into June, area parishes such as St. André Bessette of Laconia — which holds services at Sacred Heart Church on Union Avenue and at Saint Joseph Church on Church Street — will have large, purple banners above their doors, welcoming people to come within.

The campaign to bring Catholics back into the fold and also to bring new people into the church is the idea of a group known as Catholics Come Home.

According to the groups' website at www.catholicscomehome.org, there is "a crisis of faith in our world."

Only 33 percent of U.S. Catholics attend Mass on a weekly basis, CCH said, while "the number of Americans identifying themselves as non-religious/secular increased 110 percent from 1990 to 2000!"

CCH estimated that some 100,000 baptized Catholics in the U.S. drift away from Church each year and, in response, the group advocates evangelization, as expounded by Pope John Paul II. The late pontiff "realized that the old methods from the past needed refreshing, stating, 'This vital field of action for the Church requires a radical change of mentality, an authentic new awakening of conscience in everyone. New methods are needed, as are new expressions and new courage.'"

With the late Holy Father's words for inspiration, CCH created a series of television commercials and a website. The commercials, which began airing recently on stations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, invite people to go to the CCH website, help them find a local parish and "return home."

Following a CCH campaign, the Diocese of Phoenix reported that a review revealed a 12 percent increase in Mass attendance even as the diocese's population remained level. CCH said the Diocese of Corpus Christi showed a 17.7 increase in attendance at Mass after a bilingual CCH effort there.

The Rev. Marc Drouin, pastor of St. Andre Bessette, said if Catholics Come Home brings one former or new believer to his parish, then it has been more than worth it.

"We'll have resource tables for people who've been away from the church, as well as for our parishioners, books about what their faith is really about."

The St. Andre Bessette website asks parishioners to be open to the "seekers" who may "simply slip into our pews at a given Mass" or who may have questions about what it means to be a Catholic. Parishioners are advised to hone their listening skills and to listen without a personal "agenda;" to listen with their hearts; to invite more conversation; and ultimately, to "Trust in the inner workings of God; and the God within the other person. Above all, listen to their stories! Listen to their hurts! Listen to their disappointments! And then Jesus will speak through you!"

Drouin said the doors of Sacred Heart and Saint Joseph churches are open to those "who may have been away from the Church from divorce, annulment or the Second Vatican Council or who maybe have been hurt by a decision of the church."

In New Hampshire, the Diocese of Manchester has come under sharp criticism related to the sexual abuse of children by priests. Before being named bishop of Manchester in 1998, Bishop John McCormack served as a top aide to Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston, where the Catholic sex abuse scandal began and where he was in charge of investigating sexual misconduct allegations.

In 2002, McCormack averted unprecedented criminal charges against the New Hampshire diocese by agreeing that it had harmed children by moving abusive priests from parish to parish. Over the years, he has acknowledged he made mistakes and did not adequately help victims.

Some critics say the spate of lawsuits stemming from the sex abuse investigations led the diocese to consolidate a number of its parishes; the diocese cited a shortage of priests for the move which locally saw the closure of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lakeport and its consolidation into the newly formed St. Andre Bessette parish which, under one name, continues worship at both Sacred Heart and Saint Joseph churches.

"Even if one person returns home, it's worth everything to prepare to receive them," said Drouin. "Just this past week, I spoke with two people who were away for at least 30 years and both of them had seen the commercials on TV and decided to reconnect. It was a delight to meet them and to welcome them back."